STATE OF THE MEDIA REPORT QUARTER 3. 2020 parties but to cover everyone and report ethically/professionally. Attacks on journalists are usually perpetuated mainly by ruling party supporters. Zambia must seek ways of stopping such attacks especially as Zambia approaches the 2021 elections. Journalists must operate freely and independently without any undue pressure from external forces Incidents such as the illegal closure of PASME radio in Petauke are major setbacks firstly because the person involved (a District Commissioner) is a senior civil servant expected to uphold high standards and support the implementation of government policy, including that of promoting a pluralistic media environment. A District Commissioner is expected to be at the forefront protecting the rule of law and not tramping roughshod on it. The move by the Petauke DC was clearly a blatant disregard of the directive issued in the previous quarter by Chief Government Spokesperson and Minister of Information, Dora Siliya, when DCs in Mpika and Chinsali similarly interfered in the operations of media outlets. It is, therefore, prudent that government takes decisive action against such officers if its pronouncements and commitment to media freedom are to mean anything. Further, such a move by a District Commissioner is also in disregard of the mandate of the Independent Broadcasting Authority which is the competent institution to handle offences by broadcast media outlets. The least an aggrieved person can do is to formally complain to a broadcast station and later escalate the complaint to the Authority if the action taken by the station is unsatisfactory. This is the due process prescribed by the IBA (Amendment) Act of 2010 6 and it is important that all stakeholders respect the process, a position which the Authority reiterated after the attack on Mafken Radio7. It is, therefore, not surprising that PASME, a private station, proceeded to demand for a sum of K2 million as damages arising from District Commissioner Velenesi Moyo’s interruption of the paid for programme as well as trespass through its lawyer Mr Gilbert Phiri8. MISA Zambia assisted the station to hire the lawyer; Mr Gilbert Phiri. threats-against-broadcasting-stations-unfortunateiba/ 6 Available at https://www.iba.org.zm/downloads/IBA2010_act. pdf According to a demand letter dated August 17, 2020 for damages for trespass addressed to Moyo by Messrs PNP Advocates, the lawyers representing the radio station 8 7 See https://diggers.news/local/2020/07/14/violence- 13